Manufacture of gasolene.



R. P. BACON, B. T. BROOKS & C. W. CLARK.

MAN UEAGTURB OF GASOLENE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY2,1913.

Patented Mar. 9, 1915.

INVENTORS ATTORNEYS,

RAYMOND F. BACON, BENJAMIN T. BROOKS,

AND CLINTON W. CLARK, O1 PITTSBURGH PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOBS TO GULF BEFINING COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENN- SYI-VANIA, A CORPORATION OF TEXAS.

MANUFACTURE OF GASOLENE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 9, 1915.

Application filed Kay 2, 1913. Serial No. 764,982.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, Ru'noxn F. Bacon, Begum): T. Beoons, and CLINTON W. CLARK, citizens of the United Stat$,-residing at Pittsburgh, Allegheny county, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Gasolene; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apperta ins to make and use the same.

The in ention relates to the treatment of ineral oils whose boiling point is 250 C. and upward, for the production therefrom of a mixture of hydrocarbons principall of the C H series, boiling below 200 (3., said product being intended particularly for use as a fuel for internal combustion en The mineral oils from which the product is obtained are petroleum hydrocarbons, as, for instance; American and Mexican pe troleums. The operation, as hereinafter described, is conducted at a pressure of from lbs to 380 lbs. per square inch, and at a temperature of from 350 C. to 500 C. Under these conditions of pressure and temperature, small particles of tar and coke are continuously produced in the body of oil. These particles, settling out of the mas and dropping down upon the hot bottom of the usual horizontal or vertical still tend to agglomerate and adhere to said bottom with great tenacity and are diilicult of subsequent removal. Moreover, they not only diminish the conduction of heat from the furnace gases to the oil within the still, but it is found that they increase the danger of explosion by increasing the tendency of the still bottom to burn through.

The resent invention is designed to avoid the di culty just referred to. by conducting the operation under such condition that the particles of tar and coke produced in the mass will tend to move out of the cracking zone of the still and deposit themsel 'es in a part of the "apparatus separate therefrom.

Another feature of the invention isbasad upon the discovery that while the production of the desired product depends upon the maintenance of the high temperature and the high presure hereinbefore described, the rate of production is a function of the area of heating surface emplo ed and, for most purposes, may be regarded as represented by the ratio of the heating surface to the volume of the oil within the heating space. Accordingly, it is found that the maximum yields, in a given unit of time, from a given volume of oil heated, are obtained when the ratio of the heating surface to he volume is correspondingly large In pra ice, we have employed with entirely satisfactory results, tubes of an internal diameter as large as 19 inches (corresponding to a ratio expressed in comparable units, of internal periphery to internal capacity of 1:4.7; this numerical ratio being derived when the inch is taken as the unit of meas urement). "e do not recommend the employment of tubes of materially larger diameter because of the rapidly decreasing yield in gasolene beyond that point.

In establishing the desired relationship between the heating surface for the body of oil and the volume of the oil undergoing cracking and distillation thereby, there is likewise embodied in the same construction and procedure, the feature hereiubefore referred to, of permitting the particles of tar and coke that are formed during the operation to move out and deposit themselves in a part of the apparatus separate from the heated surfaces which effect the cracking of the oil. 1 Thus, in the preferred practice of the invention, the still is constructed in such a manner that its heating zone is upright and is a portion of a tube, of small diameter with respect to its length. The tube is supplied with the oil in any suitable manner, as, for instance, by a pump dischar ing into its upper portion. At its lower end, the tube leads into a receptacle for the collection of the tar and coke particles. The arrangement is preferably such that the receptacle in which the tar and coke are received is entirely below the heating zone of the tube, so thatthe particles of tar and coke Will fall freely through the oil column into the col- 10o lecting space below in substantially their entirety. Whatever particles of tar and coke chance to be deposited upon the upright walls of the heating zone, their amount is relatively small, so that the cleaning of the tube to remove such accretions is not frequently required.

It is further characteristic of the present invention that the danger of explosions is materially lessened and, in fact, is rendered almost im 'ble, at the pressures employed, because of the much larger resistivity topresure incident to the employment of wall tubes as compared vpth the employment of a single large still, either of the horizontal or vertical type In the accompsnying'drawmg, Figure 1 rcpt-meats, partly in section, and y m 'on, a form of apparatus stumble for the practice of the invention; Fig. 2 represeats a partial view of another modification of the invention, showing itsapplieability to advantage in multiple umts.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in both the views. Referring ly to Fig. 1, A indicates a. storage tank for the petroleum hydrocarbonsto be treated, and B indicatesa pump for delivering a regulated supply therefrom totbestill through theconduita.

InFig. Lisshownasingleunitconsxsting of a tube 6, of steel or other suitable metal and whose length is preferably 20 ft. or more, when the internal diameter of the tubeisGinehes. Thehea' zoneofthe tubeisintermediateofitsen cnd,inthe formshown in Fig. 1, of a fire brick chlmberChavingsuitableairinletgasd, end a suitable exit openin gilas e, for the products of combustimr. may receive im heat from any convenient aourceceforinstumaseriesotannular gas burners f, with a mixture of air and gas from gas conduit D whose g terminate in mgectmg ups, s shown, and which drew in with them a sorteble supply of sir the hell i opening into the At its lower end, thehibcbcommuniccteswifliatsraud coke receiving receptacle E, located below, 51 3* 1% 2?; pets in o o tiom, e ofoiltobecracbedanddistilledis est: uptothelevelindicstedinFig. 1, the is to say, at a level slightly higher thanthcinternalwalloftbeto ofthehentingchnmbel-C. Thislevelo thebodyof 3 fit fifi" 1. 511" 2? H. w supp'cs to eintetube ans-the cracking and distillntion Accordingly, the products of no do not come mto direct contact with an POIfiOIB of the tube not occupied by the 'quid oil, and cormequmtlgr, .the of destructive distillation 0 any on of the vapors by coming into contact with overheated portions of the tube above the zone ofliquid oil is minimized and the formation of an adhering layer of coke upon such portion of the walls of the tubeis avoided.

The free portion of the tube extends above the furnace setting, as shown, for a distance -echamberC of say a reet. 1'he vapors pass, by means of the pipe 5, to the condenser coil J, contained within the cooling receptacle F. The condenser coi is rovided at its end with a. valve is and rges into the receptacle G. The uncondensed gases and vapors from the receptacle G pas by the pipe 1 into a body of oil contained wlthjn the receptacle H, illlflleltli such 2:?(2185 of oil as 2:! cont thin in e resi gases fire trap an recovered. The surplus gases and vapors pas 05 through the conduit m. At the bottom of the receptacle E, a pipe it conveys the residual tar and coke to a receiving tank I, the flow being under the control of a regulable valve a.

From the foregoing descri tion of the purposes of the invention, an of the construction ofthe apparatus shown in Fig. 1, the mode of operation will be fully a parent The receptacle E and the tube are filled to the level indicated, and the annular burners f are ignited. The temperature to the range hereinbefore referred to,that1stosay350 C.to500 0.,andthe pressure is likewise permitted to rise, by shutting oil the valve K either wholly or partially, as the case my be, until the pressure gage t indicates the pressure desired, thatistosay,aprcssurewithin therange oflbsto300lbs persquareinch. Thus, at 100 lbs. pressure, about -90% of the entirebody ofoilmaybedistilledwith the production of a resultant condensate contsining a lnrge percentage of material boiL ing below 200 0., the temperature being about 425 C. About 35% of the condensate obtained at this pressure and temperature has a boiling point below 150, and almost all of this pct is of thcCJL- series, appropriate or use for ordinary purposes oignsolene, as, for uptance, for use as fuel for rntemnl combustion en gines and would usually be rated commerciallynsgasolene. Ingmernhitisprefez-red, as indicated, to operate at c prasure of 100 lbs. for the reason thatthe relative portion of material boiling below 150 C. is ter when the operation is conducted at 100 lbs. presure than when conducted at the lower prmre of 60 lbs. per square inch. The higher pressures up to 300 lbs. are employed when it is desired to still further increase the relative pro 1- tion of material in the condensate boil stg below 150 C., but at the higher presures there is progressively more coke and gas formed and hence a lower percentage of total condensate is obtained During the cracking and distilling operation, any particles of tar and coke that may be formed in the body of the distilling oil tend to fall through the vertical heating zone, by gravity. into the receiving space of the chamber E. A relatively small III.

- operation of amount of tar and coke will, in the course of time, build up upon the vertical walls of the tube B within the heating zone, but these accumulations are relatively unimportant and slew of formation, and, should they be come excessive, may be readily removed by the use of any ordinary boiler flue cleaner, or the like. The petroleum residue containing the coke E is drawn off from time to time through the pipe n into the receiver I.

In the form of the invention indicated in Fig. 2, there is shown a series of individual tubes 6, having at the bottom a common header E corresponding in function and location to the receptacle E of Fig. 1. The tubes b are located in a heating flue C supplied with a flow of hot products of combustion from any suitable source, so as to heat the tubes to the high temperatures hereinbefore referred to, the header E being located in a cooler space below the heating flue. a indicates a supply pipe communicating with the interior of the several tubes 6, so as to furnish oil thereto. So also, the pipe 2" constitutes the exit pipe for the vapors. The supply pipe at and the exit pipe n from the header E are connected by the cross-connecting pipe 1) having a valve w and containing the liquid level gage to, so that the operator will be able to know at any time the oil level within the several tubes 6. The mode of this modification will be clear from what has been said in regard to the mode of operation of the form of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, and need not be further elaborated.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: i

1. The method of producing from petroleum oils which have a boiling point of 250 C. and upward, a mixture of hydrocarbons boiling below 200 (3., which consists in subjecting the petroleum oils treated to a combined cracking and distilling operaaccumulating in the receptacle tion at a temperature within the range of 350 .C. to 500 C., and at a pressure within the range of 60 lbs. to 300 lbs. per square inch, progressively removing from the heating zone the particles of tar and coke produced therein and depositing them out of contact with the walls of said heating zone;

substantially as described.

2. The method of producing from petroleum oils which have a boiling point of 250 C. and upward, a mixture of hydrocarbons boiling below 200 (1., which consists in subjecting an upright column of the oil to a combined crackin and distilling operation at a temperature within the range of 350 C. to 500 C. and at a 'ressure within the range of 60 lbs. to 300 lbs. per square inch, and permitting particles of tar and coke produced in the upright column of oil to fall by gravity from the upright column into a receiving space below said column; substantially as described.

3. The method of producing from petroleum oils which have a boiling point of 250 C. and upward, a mixture of hydrocarbons boiling below 200 C., which consists in subjecting the petroleum oils treated to a combined cracking and distilling operation at a temperature within the range of 350 C. to 500 (1, and at a pressure within the range of 60 lbs. to 300 lbs. per square inch, and establishing during the cracking and distillin operation, a ratio (expressed in comparab e units) of cracking heating surface to the volume of oil not substantially less than 124.7, this ratio being derived when the inch is employed as the unit of measurement; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures, in presence of two witnesses.

' RAYMOND F. BACON.

BENJAMIN T. BROOKS. CLINTON W. CLARK.

Witnesses:

GEo. B. NICKEL, S. C. Panama.

DISCLAIMER 1,131,309.Raym0nd F. Bacon, Benja/min 7'. Brooks, and Clinton W. Clark, Pittsburgh, Pa. MANUFACTURE OF GASOLENE. Patent dated March 9, 1915. Disclaimer filed August 25, 1930, by the assignee, Gulf Refining Company. Therefore disclaims from the scope or meanin of claims 1, 2, and 3 of said Patent 1,131,309 any method of producing a mixture 0 hydrocarbons which includes sub jecting petroleum oils to a pressure within 'a rangebelow 100 pounds per square inch.

[Oficial Gazette September 16, 1.930.] 

